After trying several different directions in Toronto, Reggie eventually turned to a field that combined his aptitude for electronics with the possibility of a professional career. He enrolled in the Avionics program at New Brunswick Community College in Moncton.

Avionics—the electronic systems used in aircraft—was a natural progression from some of the interests Reggie had already pursued. He had worked assembling and testing electronic components at Broy Engineering, studied Technical Writing at Ryerson and later completed a Recording Engineering program at the Trebas Institute.

This time, he was preparing for a career in the aviation industry.

Near the Top of His Class

Reggie began the program in September 1988, and his academic record shows just how well he could perform.

During his first term, he achieved an average of 87.8 and ranked 2nd in a class of 24 students.

In his second term, his average was 86.5, and he again ranked 2nd, this time in a class of 23.

By the third term, Reggie remained near the top of the class, ranking 4th among 27 students with an average of 80.7.

His complete term results were:

His marks declined during the later terms, but Reggie completed the program and graduated with honours.

For our family, records like these provide another perspective on Reggie. So much of his story would eventually become associated with drugs, crime and addiction that it can be easy to lose sight of what he was capable of accomplishing.

When Reggie applied himself to something that interested him, he could do extremely well.

What Reggie Remembered

Reggie’s own account of these years adds another side to the academic record.

Despite doing well in school, drugs remained part of his life. In his short history of himself, he recalled 1989 partly through an incident at a Stevie Ray Vaughan concert, where he said he was caught snorting cocaine, swallowed the evidence, spent the night in jail and was later found not guilty.

His summary of 1990 was equally revealing. He wrote that he graduated with honours despite heavy cocaine use.

Once again, the documentary record and Reggie’s own account show two things happening at the same time. He was succeeding in a demanding technical program while also experiencing serious problems with drugs.

Looking for Work in Aviation

Graduating was only the beginning of the challenge.

Reggie wanted to work in aviation and made considerable efforts to find a job in the field. He contacted airlines and aircraft-service companies and kept many of the application letters he sent while searching for work.

But the opportunity he had trained for proved difficult to find.

Reggie later recalled that airline cutbacks made employment particularly difficult after he graduated. Although he found some work in the industry, he was unable to establish the aviation career he had hoped for.

For the time being, his avionics training would remain something Reggie had worked hard to achieve without being able to turn it into the career he wanted.

He didn’t know then that, nearly a decade later, he would finally find his way back into aviation.